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Re: Libya: Will Air War Become an Occupation?

It's not a rhetorical question. How else would you exert control over these events in which billions of dollars have been invested or don't you consider war an investment? This is not a humanitarian endeavor. That trial balloon leaked air immediately. Hmm, 60% of Libyan OIL has been going to China. If we control Iraqi OIL and Libyan OIL, then we exert some influence on OPEC, as the famous buzzwords state, "going forward." Do that have some traction?

Re: Libya: Will Air War Become an Occupation?

If we seek complete control, occupation, that would be a mistake. A huge mistake. We have to get out of the regime change nation building rut.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE:I think the world vests too much power, certainly in the president, probably in Washington in general for its influence on the economy, because most all of the economy has nothing to do with the government.

Re: Libya: Will Air War Become an Occupation?

It had better not. I supported the air strikes, but I most certainly wouldn't support an occupation. One gave more power to the revolutionaries, the other would take it away. One makes us more popular in the middle east, the other does the opposite.

Re: Libya: Will Air War Become an Occupation?

Originally Posted by donsutherland1

Air power alone led to a successful outcome in the 1999 Balkan conflict.

Yet did it in Vietnam, the War on Terror, and other wars?
I recall one former military stating the over-rated importance of air power
"Even if you bomb all their cities, their roads, their factories, you still have to send in your infantry, armor, and artillery to wipe out the remaining 50% of their ground forces hiding shielded from air-dropped bombs"

"The misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all" - Joan Robinson
"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries" - Winston Churchill

Re: Libya: Will Air War Become an Occupation?

Originally Posted by Proud South Korean

Yet did it in Vietnam, the War on Terror, and other wars?
I recall one former military stating the over-rated importance of air power
"Even if you bomb all their cities, their roads, their factories, you still have to send in your infantry, armor, and artillery to wipe out the remaining 50% of their ground forces hiding shielded from air-dropped bombs"

The point is, our air power levels the playing field for their infantry.

Re: Libya: Will Air War Become an Occupation?

Originally Posted by Proud South Korean

Yet did it in Vietnam, the War on Terror, and other wars?
I recall one former military stating the over-rated importance of air power
"Even if you bomb all their cities, their roads, their factories, you still have to send in your infantry, armor, and artillery to wipe out the remaining 50% of their ground forces hiding shielded from air-dropped bombs"

In general, especially in major wars, air power alone is insufficient. Manpower is often vital. The Balkan conflict in 1999 is an exception. I only noted that conflict to make a correction to the preceding statement.